Private education and training is the preferred choice of more than 50 per cent of students across Australia. It is highly innovative and responsive to the needs of industry. More than 2.2 million students choose to complete study or training with private providers in Australia.

The Student Choice Counts campaign is mobilising the community of students, employees and supporters of the private education and training sector against any policy change to limit student choice and undermine the viability of an important and competitive industry.

The risks:

Liberal and National parties and the ALP have announced major reviews and consultations into training and higher education. ACPET supports these measures but we need to make sure that outcomes do not penalise current or future students. Students must come first.

ALP policy announced during the election campaign would see an arbitrary cap on HELP training student loans, jeopardising student choice and affordability.

The ALP has also strongly indicated its intent to direct at least 70 per cent of funding to Government-owned TAFEs, stripping students of their right to study at their college of choice. TAFE alone cannot deliver the range of courses, to the number of students, in metropolitan, regional and rural locations across the country.

We support effective requirements to ensure only high quality providers can deliver public funded training.

24 June 2016 | Tertiary students studying at private higher education institutions are being unfairly and harshly penalised for their choice, according to the Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET). ACPET CEO Rod Camm said students choosing private higher education providers were charged a 25 per cent fee payable on their student loans and denied access to Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs). ACPET is calling for both the Australian Labor Party and the Coalition to remove the 25 per cent fee payable on loans obtained through FEE-HELP which does not apply to university students accessing HECS-HELP. This reform would not only support greater student choice but address a fundamental inequity that has financially penalised some students simply because of their choice of higher education provider. This fee is simply indefensible….[ READ MORE ]….

23 June 2016 | Students from disadvantaged backgrounds risk being shut out of training under policy announced by the Australian Labor Party, according to the Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET). ACPET CEO Rod Camm said that students whose only access to diploma level training was through student loans faced being shut out once more if proposed arbitrary caps on loan amounts were introduced. ACPET says that under Labor’s proposed $8,000 cap on training loans, many students from disadvantaged backgrounds will be turned away from training because they cannot afford to pay up-front fees. Camm says that ACPET members are concerned that, for many disadvantaged students, the threat this election is not just to choice, but their ability to access any sort of diploma level training at all….[READ MORE]….

17 June 2016 | The training choice of 2.2 million Australian students is at risk from outdated and ill-informed rhetoric from the Greens. The Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) CEO Rod Camm said private training providers were an absolutely essential component of Australia’s training sector and the Green’s policy to stop all government funding to private providers posed enormous risk. The Australian training sector would collapse if private training providers were removed from the sector, he said….[ READ MORE]….

16 June 2016 | Australia needs a diverse higher education and training sector with quality private providers delivering choice and quality outcomes for students and employers. Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) CEO Rod Camm said student access to government funded training through quality private training providers was critical to meeting the future skill needs of Australia’s economy. “Private training has matured over the past 20 years and is the choice of employers and more than 2.2 million, or 57 per cent of Australian students, every year,” Mr Camm said. “Private training delivers strong job placement outcomes and delivers more flexible training options.”….[ READ MORE ]….

15 June 2016 | Private training providers have expressed their surprise and concern at yesterday’s Australian Labor Party (ALP) policy announcement to provide pre-apprenticeship training for 10,000 young people and to assist retrenched workers get their trade skills formally recognised. Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) CEO Rod Camm said that while improving pathways into apprenticeships was an important element in boosting the nation’s trade skills and providing real jobs, ACPET had considerable concerns about what the policy was really trying to do. “Continuing economic uncertainty and government training cuts have reduced the opportunities especially for our young job seekers” he said. “While the policy intent is supported, the ALP has missed an ideal opportunity to drive home the employment outcomes from this program by using private sector training providers. Put simply, private colleges have a proven ability to provide superior employment outcomes for job seekers and the ALP’s decision to only allocate funding to Government-run providers is a serious limitation.”….[ READ MORE ]….

9 June 2016 | Flexible learning, quality study programs and industry standard training are at risk for more than 2.2 million Australian students studying with private higher education and training providers each year. Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) Chief Executive Officer Rod Camm said private providers were an essential element of Australia’s higher education and training sector, offering students a wide choice of courses, flexible delivery options and access to industry professionals. “There are countless examples of how our members are meeting demand from Australia’s students and employers, right across the country,” he said….[ READ MORE ]….

8 June 2016 | Private training providers support the Australian Labor Party’s policy announcement to boost apprenticeship numbers if it wins the upcoming federal election. Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) CEO Rod Camm said apprenticeships and traineeships were key elements in providing jobs and skills, particularly for young people. “A combination of subdued economic circumstances and government training cuts have produced decade low levels of commencements which is reflected in the high unemployment levels amongst young job seekers,” he said. “Harnessing the government’s infrastructure program to boost apprenticeships and traineeships is an important step in boosting opportunities for those seeking a trade career.”….[ READ MORE ]….

27 May 2016 | Australia’s 2.2 million private education and training students are being urged to stand up for their right to choice during the Federal Election campaign. The Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET), the national industry association for independent providers of post-compulsory education and training, is mobilising member, employer and student networks to address policy changes that would limit student choice and undermine the viability of a competitive industry. ACPET Chief Executive Officer Rod Camm said private education and training in Australia delivered jobs and growth, and provided nationally accredited and portable qualifications that delivered massive outcomes for the economy. However, the sector is under threat from reactionary policy changes that would punish both students and good quality private providers. “Policy announcements including an intention to direct the vast majority of vocational training funding to Government-run TAFEs and an arbitrary $8,000 cap on Help loans will strip students of their right to study at their college of choice,” Mr Camm said. “Suggestions that at least 70 per cent of funding will go to a Government-owned provider and that government will choose the courses that will be funded, and at what price, can only lead to another major public policy failure….[ READ MORE ]….

24 May 2016 | Students and industry would be the big losers under a Greens Party policy to lock out all private training providers from vocational education and training. Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) CEO Rod Camm said the proposal put forward by the Greens would be a disaster taking away students’ right to choose their training provider and their preferred course, whilst unfairly punishing high quality private training providers right across Australia. “This type of policy is exactly what ACPET is urging all parties to avoid this election. Students should be able to choose exactly where and what they want to study,” he said….[ READ MORE ]….

6 May 2016 | The Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) has today warned that good quality training providers will be the victims of Labor’s unfair training loan caps, announced in Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s budget reply speech overnight. ACPET CEO Rod Camm has today questioned how such arbitrary change could be fair on students, and warned that a government imposed price of $8000, with no reference to market forces, would punish good quality private training providers and put thousands of jobs in the private training sector at risk….[ READ MORE ]….

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The Scan is produced by Inter Mediate, a Melbourne based public policy consulting practice, with a focus on education and training issues, particularly higher education.
The Scan reviews topical issues in the tertiary education sector and places them in a broader context.